The leaders of four of Iowa’s ethanol plants have returned home from a trip to Washington, D.C. this week. Kelly Hanson, general manager of the Hanlontown POET Biorefinery facility, says they met with a host of policy makers in hopes of rejecting the EPA’s proposal to lower the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).
The group also pushed for the implementation of E-15 into the nation’s fuel supply. Hanson says while lawmakers in many states support the ethanol industry, others have “misconceptions” about the RFS. “Truthfully, the RFS can benefit every state in the nation and we worked hard to make sure that message was clear,” Hanson says.
The Renewable Fuels Standard requires a set amount of corn-based ethanol fuel to be produced each year. Hanson says the RFS, first established in 2005, has been an “overwhelming” success. “It’s created over 400,000 American jobs, it has revitalized rural America, it’s clearly lowered the price of fuel at the pump, and one of the most important things is it’s helped our nation become more energy independent,” Hanson says.
The delegation in Washington this week included the general managers of POET facilities in Corning, Coon Rapids, Gowrie,Jewell and Hanlontown.
(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)